Kukla's Korner Hockey

The success of the Boston Bruins is beginning to put the NHL into something of a predicament.

Having won the Stanley Cup last year and having gained confidence from that achievement, the big bad Bears certainly appear to be a strong contender in the east and in the opinion of Wings coach Mike Babcock at least, they are ‘the best team in hockey right now’ as he said a couple of weeks ago.

So what happens if the Bruins do indeed go on to win another Cup making it two in a row?

Given that scenario there is very little doubt that at a time when the league is looking to lessen the impact of violent collisions and lessen fighting at least, if not stop it outright, the biggest meanest team on the planet is winning and will no doubt be emulated.

Comments

This is exactly what i’ve been saying for a few weeks now, when the best managed team of the last two years is also the toughest and most likely contender for a cup right now, you have to start thinking that the game won’t get any less rough.

I think that is the mainstay of the East-West divide in recent years, teams in the West are adjusting to the Wings domination, adapting to the “new” Euro-esque 2-way talent method of playing. The majority of teams in the East are playing the old fashioned “batter ‘em into submission and pepper the keeper” game.

There are exceptions on either side, the Ducks in the West for example are pretty rough and tumble and perhaps the Pens or Caps are a little more euro-minded in the East (but still not shy of dropping the gloves when needed). But that’s how I’ve seen it in the last few years.

It’s a fascinating concept, with Crosby’s light fading due to a lack of exposure (for the time being at least), does Bettman really want Thornton or Marchand to be the poster boys for this new decade? Yikes.

On a side note, I do feel like a Wings/Bruins finals would be incredible, but without a couple of tougher minded players, it would also give the Wings one hell of a beating.

Posted by
jimathor
from The land of Sir Humblepatch of Bumblehound on 01/12/12 at 01:24 AM ET

I agree with much of what jimathor has said.

We did have a Wings/Bruins final last year—2011’s version of the Wings was the Vancouver Canucks, a team that has spent several years trying to focus on the element that made/continue to make the Wings so successful: skill.

Posted by
Mike
from Toronto on 01/12/12 at 02:20 AM ET

It helped that the Bruins had “Daddy” watching their back, but outside of style points, the Wings and Canucks have a very different mindset. From the outiside looking in, the Wings never seem to be a team that can be intimidated even if they aren’t “drop your gloves tough”. They’ve also learned to win even when their goaltender isn’t considered their best player.